the buddha of questions

you are a god,

the buddha of questions

whose answers are scrambled
in your mind.

but i want you to know that

who and how are the clay of why,
where and what are beyond your reach,
and in your lap you cradle when.

when do i?

a stranger,
your only friend,
your right hand standing on the left,
and all that remains of you.

who am i?

anxious, perching on a branch,
bending it,
riding the nauseous down- and up-
swing, off guard,
taking wing and
moving on to the next branch–
bending it.

and how am i?

because the answers do not
fit the questions,
because my heart beats way too fast at the sight of you,
because red is everything inside me–
refried, hot to the touch,
spicy, and staining.

why am i?

in your gut,
from your diaphragm,
on your breath as dense
as love can be,
exhaled in your sigh
(allusion in sound).

where am i?

gold and silver plated,
iron, steel,
helmeted, lanced.

what am i?

when all the stars are blank
and not for the giving,
and the fear of the dark and cold
is choked and airless,
when the final gasp is soundless,
when only the moment matters.

(From Like. Love. Hate. Available at Amazon.com and Smashwords)

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2013

seasonal madness

as i sit at my desk
the autumn sunlight
swirls through the window
bright then dim

i imagine my thoughts
are validated then called into question
throughout the day
by such dimming and shining

as the days pass
and november lies dying
the light is ever weaker
and i wonder if that weakness reflects
the paucity of my current thoughts
or simply the changing seasons

i worry come the gray days of winter
how i’ll know which thoughts
are worth thinking

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2013

Camden Street

“The devil
is beating his wife,”
my grandmother used to say
if the rain fell
while the sun was shining.
It was always a humid day
when the burdened sky
could not wait for cloud cover,
and the hurried downpour
never lasted
for more than a minute,
the faint sound of thunder
soon forgotten,
as if a dream.
Always there was a hush
on my grandmother’s face
as she stood ironing bed sheets
while the devil,
confused by what seemed
a reasonless trick of the weather,
took it out on her who
forever had been the same.

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2013

illumination

(the rotating earth)
clouds raked over the blue sky and
one after one are
spun into fine white threads
(above the strands) a
sun defies the eye
yet is the source of color is
the reason for rain
–we are the light–

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2013

Oh, Very Young (Redux)

Maturity

One day, I looked out into sea.
The waves were tossing
As if they were being blown by an almighty wind,
And the sand pulled away from the
Edge of the water as if in fear
Of being swallowed and drowned
By the powerful current.
As I watched, I thought how silly
It was for the sand to run like that
And how foolish the sea was to
Be so angry. I said, “Stop.
Why are you so angry, sea,
And sand, what have you to be
So afraid of? You were
Put here for some glorious
Purpose, to live together as one.
True peace lies in knowing that
You are free and total freedom
Comes from being at peace
With yourself and living in
Harmony with others.”
And the sand, a little embarrassed
by its cowardice, stopped running
And stood still, and waited for the
Sea’s reply, and the sea, realizing
Its folly, stopped its tumultuous
Movement and instead rushed up to the
Shore to embrace the sand.

~ Adriene, 1979

Oh, Very Young

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2013

rockin’ amazement

peace before anything.

my ink so hot
it burn though the journal,
walls tremblin’,
rockin’ amazement,
the air simmering.
I wanna tell you
how i feel right now:
the sun is sitting in the treetops
burnin’ the woods,
the focus gettin’ clear
and the light turn sharp–
fly gold, zulu arrangement,
radiating from heaven to pavement
to penetrate beyond
the muscle wall’s inner regions.

love power. slay the hate.

***************************

(This poem is composed entirely of song lyrics written by MC/actor Mos Def [Priority, Umi Says, Mathematics, Quiet Dog Bite Hard, New World Water, Auditorium, Do It Now].)

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2013

Sidewalk running

Sidewalk-running heart outpaces control,
rushing fuzzy flashing past all-night minimart,
tomorrow-blinded sweaty-faced stark-eyed kohl,
sidewalk running. Heart
bouncing off the curb, traffic dodging cars–
heavy bus creaking #34 clinking manhole–
up-curb hopping invincible, pulling crowds apart.
No time–the crime of sitting parking weighty on the soul,
no tears, no ticket, thinking, street smart,
dropping coins the passing meters lining the whole
sidewalk, running heart.

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2013

Wisdom

I’m not a year older,
but a year wiser:

a quaint phrase that belongs
to another century,
gone the way of home phones
and desktops.

The world changes,
nothing is safe and
not much can be known.

Maybe there is  wisdom
in knowing that,
wisdom in withholding trust,
wisdom in reporting the duffel bag
left alone on a crowded street,
wisdom in recording it,
in searching passing faces.

Tomorrow is not promised:
that’s a wisdom
life taught me young.

It took longer to understand
I’d rather be gutted than lied to.
The depths are as infinite as the sky.
Life is a gas, not a solid.
I can do this.
“This” is everything.
When I figure out who I am,
I’ll know everything.
I’m always changing.

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2013

Take 26

Your words so clear,
dear heart, dear heart,
your tongue in my ear,
are a sweet deluge
that floods my dreams,
thoughts soaked so completely.
I float in your clarity,
moved by your thunder.
I stand before the lightning strike,
fire red as sunset.
There is nothing to do about that.

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2013

On Mondrian 2 (dear heart)

Piet Mondrian. Broadway Boogie-Woogie. 1942-43
Courtesy of Olga’s Gallery

© Sweepy Jean and Sweepy Jean Explores the (Webby) World, 2013